(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
Nogent-sur-Oise is home to nearly 20,000 people in the northern part of France. The city lies nearly 5,500 miles from Tempe, Arizona, and the plane ride between the two cities is nearly 15 hours.
While many people might not travel between the two destinations, Sophia Elenga can say otherwise.
Elenga is a junior forward on the ASU women’s basketball team. She is originally from the city of Nogent-sur-Oise, and has been residing in the United States for the last three years.
After playing two years of junior college basketball at Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona, the junior from Europe made the three and a half hour trek to Tempe for her first season under head coach Charli Turner Thorne.
“I think she has done a great job of just acclimating herself not just with the team and everything, but just at ASU, and taking advantage and making good friends, and kind of embedding herself in the community,” Turner Thorne said.
This season, Elenga has played in every game for the Sun Devils and is averaging 5.9 points per game and 4.2 rebounds while playing just over 18 minutes a game.
Two weeks ago, Elenga recorded a new career-high with 17 points at Colorado, and she was an integral part of ASU’s sweep of the Rocky Mountain schools to begin Pac-12 play.
“I just feel more comfortable on the court now,” Elenga said. “…I think I just get more confident and I am understanding what Coach Charli expects from me.”
At Cochise, Elenga led the Apaches to the best record in school history (28-4) while averaging 12.4 points per game and 8.3 rebounds under former ASU assistant coach Laura Hughes.
Hughes spent nearly 20 seasons with Turner Thorne both as a player and a coach. Turner Thorne knew she was getting a quality player when Elenga elected to come to Tempe.
Although the veteran head coach was familiar with Hughes as a player and as a longtime assistant coach, Elenga’s decision to attend ASU was partly due to a reason off the basketball court.
Elenga is majoring in sports journalism. The decision to attend the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU seemed to go hand-in-hand with basketball.
“She’s a broadcast journalism major so we had a lot of things going our way,” Turner Thorne said. “You aren’t going to find a better broadcast journalism school.”
During the holiday season, Elenga didn’t get a chance to go back home to visit her family. She spent the holidays on campus working on her game and spending time with her teammates.
Although the transition from junior college to Division I college basketball can come as a culture shock both on and off the court, Elenga has embraced the challenge and is settling in nicely with her new team.
“It was a little bit overwhelming with all of these people (at ASU),” Elenga said. “But the good thing is I came with the team so I just didn’t feel alone, and then I met some friends outside of the campus so it’s very nice.”
Turner Thorne labeled Elenga as the “grandma” of the team because of her maturity — a tag that has been passed around the team the last couple of years, according to junior forward Kiana Ibis.
“I think she’s fitting in well…Last year it was Sara Hattis who was the grandma, but I think every year we kind of have a designated person who is the grandma of the team,” Ibis said with a laugh.
Nevertheless, Elenga’s maturity in tight games has not gone unnoticed by her teammates.
“It’s exciting seeing Sophia just get so aggressive and finishing well, and making big plays,” Ibis said. “She is getting more into the flow. You can tell in practice.”
As for the different lifestyles between France and the United States, Elenga admitted that she felt homesick at times when first arriving at ASU, but she has had the help of her teammates. Elenga has not visited France since June and English is her second language.
“It’s not that big there (in France). For example, you can just walk around everywhere,” Elenga said. “I don’t have a car (in Arizona), so it’s not easy when I have to get somewhere. I am asking everybody…but I think I just miss maybe the lifestyle there, but I really enjoy it here (in Arizona).”
With six games under her belt in Pac-12 play, Elenga has been a solid addition to a well-rounded ASU team that has risen as high as No. 18 in the nation.
“It’s just so amazing to be on a team like that because they are not selfish and they really care about people,” Elenga said. “That’s the reason why I decided to come to ASU — because of the people, especially because they always bring so much positive energy.
“We can be sure on this team that we have each other’s back no matter what.”
